ACUFO:

ACUFO is my comprehensive catalog of cases of encounters between aircraft and UFOs, whether they are “explained” or “unexplained”.

The ACUFO catalog is made of case files with a case number, summary, quantitative information (date, location, number of witnesses...), classifications, all sources mentioning the case with their references, a discussion of the case in order to evaluate its causes, and a history of the changes made to the file.

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Taïwan, in 1945:

Case number:

ACUFO-1945-00-00-TAIWAN-1

Summary:

In his 1957 book about UFOs “Inside Saucer Post ...3-0 Blue”, U.S. ufologist Leonard H. Stringfield mentioned that he received a good report from a reliable source, the sighter having been a radio operator of a B-24 during a mission over Formosa in 1945.

His report, says Stringfield, described a vertical chain of luminous globes, one following the other in a spiral climb toward his aircraft. Showing no menace, they continued to climb out of view.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	1945
Time:	?
Duration:	?
First known report date:	1957
Reporting delay:	13 years.

Geographical data:

Country:	Taïwan
State/Department:
City or place:

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses:	1
Number of known witnesses:	1
Number of named witnesses:	0

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	Ufology book Leonard H. Stringfield.
Visibility conditions:	?
UFO observed:	Yes.
UFO arrival observed:	?
UFO departure observed:	?
UFO action:	Fly up in spiral to the plane and continue up.
Witnesses action:
Photographs:	No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es):	No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es):	No.
Witness(es) feelings:	?
Witnesses interpretation:	?

Classifications:

Sensors:	[X] Visual: 1 [ ] Airborne radar: [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages:
Hynek:	?
Armed / unarmed:	Armed, 7.62 mm machine guns.
Reliability 1-3:	2
Strangeness 1-3:	2
ACUFO:	Insufficient information, possible flares.

Sources:

[Ref. lsd1:] LEONARD H. STRINGFIELD:

Next, was the possibility of getting two more good reports from reliable sources. I promptly secured one, the sighter having been a radio operator of a B-24 during a mission over Formosa in 1945. His report described a vertical chain of luminous globes, one following the other in a spiral climb toward his aircraft. Showing no menace, they continued to climb out of view.

[Ref. lwr1:] DR. LOUIS WINKLER:

1945/Formosa/Stringfield (1957)

A chain of luminous globes followed one another in a spiral climb, passing the airplane and going out of sight.

[Ref. prt4:] JAN ALDRICH - "PROJECT 1947":

N - 1945.------ ------ Formosa.

Radio operator on a B-24 saw a vertical chain of luminous globes, one following the other in a spiral climb towards the aircraft. They continued to climb out of view. (Stringfield, Inside Saucer Post.....Blue, page 8.)

[Ref. gvo1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

1945

FORMOSA

The radio operator of a USAAF B24 sees a string of spiraling light globes climbing toward the aircraft. (PROJECT ACUFOE, Catalog 1999, Dominique Weinstein)

[Ref. dwn1:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:

1945

Formosa

The radio operator of a USAAF B-24 observed a vertical chain of luminous globes in spiral which climbed toward the plane.

Sources: Project 1947, Jan Aldrich / Inside Saucer Post Blue, Leonard Stringfield, p.8

[Ref. dwn2:] DOMINIQUE WEINSTEIN:

Case 79

1945

Formosa

The radio operator of a USAAF B-24 observed a vertical chain of luminous globes in spiral which climbed toward the plane.

Sources: Project 1947, Jan Aldrich / Inside Saucer Post Blue, Leonard Stringfield, p.8

Aircraft information:

The Consolidated B-24 “Liberator” (photo below) was an American heavy bomber used during World War II by the Allied air and naval forces.

By April 1944, some B-24s had been equipped with H2X radars. Its long range of action had allowed it roles as maritime patrols, anti-submarine patrols, and reconnaissance, in the Atlantic and the Pacific.

Discussion:

The report is not very detailed; spiraling luminous objects in other UFO reports were sometimes explained as rockets out of control. In this case, I would suggest that the spiraling luminous objects could have been flares fired by the enemy from the ground.

Evaluation:

Insufficient information, possible flares.

Sources references:

* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.

[lsd1] * "Inside Saucer Post ...3-0 Blue", book by Leonard H. Stringfield, Civilian Research Interplanetary Flying Objects (CRIFO), USA, page 8, 1957.
[lwr1] * "Catalog/database, and analysis, of pre-1947 'UFO-like phenomena'", report by Dr Louis Winkler, astronomer, Pennsylvania State University, for the Fund for UFO Research (FUFOR), USA, 1982-1984.
[prt4] * "ACUFOE in World War II", catalogue by Jan Aldrich, Project 1947, USA, October 9, 1999, at http://www.project1947.com/47cats/acupdt.htm
[gvo1] * "Chronologie OVNI", electronic catalogue compiled by Godelieve Van Overmeire, Belgium, circa 1999.
[dwn1] * "Appendix 1 - Catalog of Unconventional Aerial Phenomena - reported by Allied pilots (1942-1945)", catalogue by Dominique F. Weinstein, France, June 20, 2005.
[dwn2] * "The Foofighters Files (1) - Catalogue of Unconventional Aerial Phenomena Reported by Allied pilots during WW II (1943-1945)", catalogue by Dominique F. Weinstein, France, October 2009.

File history:

Authoring:

Main author:	Patrick Gross
Contributors:	None
Reviewers:	None
Editor:	Patrick Gross

Changes history:

Version:	Create/changed by:	Date:	Description:
0.1	Patrick Gross	December 2, 2023	Creation, [lsd1], [lwr1], [prt1], [gvo1], [dwn1], [dwn2].
1.0	Patrick Gross	December 2, 2023	First published.

This page was last updated on December 2, 2023.